How Work Contributes Positively to People Living with Depression

Medical research and lived experience tells us that engagement in work can be a very positive and useful recovery tool for people living with Depression. Work does not replace other therapies such as psychological or psychiatric treatment, however, it can be a positive way of being able to practice new skills that are being taught […]

Medical research and lived
experience tells us that engagement in work can be a very positive
and useful recovery tool for people living with Depression.

Work does not replace
other therapies such as psychological or psychiatric treatment, however, it can
be a positive way of being able to practice new skills that are being taught or
explored in treatment.

There is a lot written
about how workplaces are becoming increasingly aware of employees who are experiencing
Depression in their workplaces. We now
have a growing social impact from organisations such as Beyond Blue, Super Friend, ReturntoWork.net.au,
all providing great resources that help employers and co-workers develop supportive
workplaces for someone living with Depression.

Living with Depression
does not mean someone can’t work. Often
work can be a great help to stabilising symptoms and improving the heath of people living with Depression.

During my work as a
Rehabilitation Counsellor, I have heard a lot of fears being expressed by people
who have experienced absence from work due to Depression.

I’ve written this post
in the hope that any person who is living with Depression or recovering from a
depressive episode may know how they can navigate returning to work.

Fear #1: What if I can’t do my job?

After any time away
from work it’s reasonable to feel like you may not know if you can do the job
any more.

In addition, when you
are living with symptoms of Depression you don’t quite feel the way you used to
feel, and that feels “abnormal”.

For example, some people report that they find it hard to
think quickly when they are living with Depression, therefore making sure that
your work tasks are structured in such a way that allows you to focus on one
thing at a time would be helpful.

Fear #2: What if I can’t cope and I break down?

This is where I recommend
using a Flare Up management plan. My
client’s find them a really useful tool to know what to do in the event that symptoms
or feelings become unmanageable.

For example, if you
know that news events can trigger more feelings or stronger feelings then avoid
the radio or TV while at work including in the social spaces.

It’s imperative that
you know exactly who you can talk to when at work if you notice that you are
feeling worse. It’s often most helpful
to set up the ‘how will we communicate when I’m feeling bad’ scenarios before
they happen so everyone who needs to know, knows what to do.

Fear #3 I don’t want people to ask me how I am?

This is a common concern
for people living with Depression. We either state the truth, I am depressed,
or often we lie and say “I’m fine” which often doesn’t help.

What I’ve found to be
useful is to plan with client’s how they would like to respond to this question
in a way that is polite but also gives them a sense of dignity. For example – Thanks for asking, I’m doing OK today.

Or I appreciate you asking, today’s is difficult
for me but I know what to do.

What I have observed
in 20 years of doing this work is that most people don’t want to be rude or
nosey – we just haven’t been very good at talking about mental health at all.
Our lack of experience tends to make us clumsy.
We aren’t very good at it in families and we aren’t very good at it in
workplaces. Every time someone is
courageous enough to return to work while they are recovering, they are giving
us all the opportunity to learn how to get better at talking about mental
health is a way that is respectful.

Fear #4. I don’t
want people to know why I’ve been away from work.

Similarly, to the
above fear statement, it is better to be prepared for these conversations
before they occur. Remember, you are in
control of what you want people to know about you and your life. There is no rule that says you must share
with everyone. I personally would want
to keep a lot of my illness and medical history personal and private.

Again, I have found it
useful to plan with client’s how they would like to respond to questions or
statements about them having been absent from work. Simple responses such as – I’ve been unwell but I’m on the mend, thanks
for your concern.

We cannot control how
someone will respond to us, and when we are feeling uncertain or vulnerable it
is common to want to control the emotional reactions of others. However, we can’t. What we can control is how
we want to be in that moment and how we want to respond.

Fear #5 What
if I can’t cope at home after I’ve been at work all day?

What a great
question.

Being at work should
not be the sum total of all that you have in your life. It can be expected that returning to work after
any time away from work will increase feelings of uncertainty or fatigue. The smart thing to do here is to make one
change at a time. When you are preparing
to return to work, make sure you aren’t making too many more changes that
effect your energy and mood at the same time.

Learning how to
integrate work back into your whole life will take some time. Often, we are all in a rush to be better now,
but that’s not how recovery works.
Recovery needs to be planned, thought out and prepared for. Returning to work while you are living with
Depression is no different.

Summary and final thoughts

Please understand that
you cannot be in a rush to get “back to the way I was” after a period of mental
illness. It is important for you to stop
and think about who you are now and be aware of the extra energy you may be
putting into trying to keep up appearances.

One of the unique
skills of a Rehabilitation Professional is our ability to apply the experience
of your symptoms to your work tasks so that you can gradually increase what you
are doing at work, building on your knowledge and your skills, while building
your resilience to be in the workplace.
This is why we don’t advocate for people to have to be 100% well before
returning back to work, because on the whole people more successfully return to
work when work is a part of their recovery.

Jo is all about connecting people to purpose through inspiration and innovation. Author of The Entrepreneurial Clinician, she is also the Founder and Principal Consultant of Purple Co a team of specialist allied health consultants dedicated to helping people who experience injury illness and trauma reclaim their lives through work. Having graduated from the University of Sydney in 1994 with a Bachelor of Health Science, Rehabilitation Counselling and is a sought-after speaker, trainer and coach.

Work is such an incredibly significant part of our life, yet for so many of us work is hard and leaves us feeling exhausted, unwell and in extreme cases unable to earn at all. My team and I use our expertise in human behavior to help people to make their work work well for them. I know that work is not all of who we are, BUT without work our health, our wealth and the ability to live a fulfilled life can’t be realized.

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